So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

After reading your opinions and listening to some big name guys in the media, I am with you guys on Cromartie and Marshall. Last night I wanted a move to make the team better, and maybe too bad. But here we go. Here is the rant homies.

1st - Give me a break Rams homers, being a forever fan I can say this is total crap. Our backups are not far off from Feeley, who probably would have played football since 2007 if he had anything to offer. With that being said....

2nd - Was there competition for Feeley? Was there a bidding war that made it so we NEEDED TO PAY HIM 3 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR?! We should have been able to get him for the MINIMUM AMOUNT, and I might have been fine with that. But guess what......

3rd - OJ ATOGWE DOESNT HAVE A CONTRACT! Anyone can bid on this guy right now and we get NOTHING we if don't match it - Why do you ask............?

4th - We didn't tender him at a first round level (or any level) - Why you ask? the TEAM saved 5 MILLION DOLLARS. <--- Where could we get 5 million dollars from? For our best player on defense? Let me tell you...

4th - FROM THE FREAKING 6 MILLION OVER 2 YEARS WE GAVE AJ FEELEY.

This team is backwards. Chester Taylor got 3 million per. I bet you big bucks Thomas Jones gets around the same.

Feeley > Taylor > Jones > Atogwe ???

I don't freaking think so.

A joke. If you were listening to Sporting News Radio a moment ago, you got to here a slightly intoxicated Peramoure (myself) ranting to the Larry Brown show about all of the above.

And for the record, while I've been typing this, the Larry Brown late night sports show has decided to make the AJ Feeley show the punchline of their evening. Every 10 minutes they have little drops about what a bunch of idiots run our organization. What an effin' joke.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

I would advise taking a breath and trying to calm down, because it sounds like you're getting pretty worked up about all this. Let me try to provide some counterpoints to your rant, and you can see if they make any sense to you.

1. Feeley is probably about as good of a back-up as Boller was, but the advantage is that he knows this offense inside and out. I think even the biggest Bulger critics would admit that Marc is the superior option to start between the two, but signing Feeley gives them a veteran who is capable of starting in a pinch until a rookie QB is ready to go. Having this will allow them to move Bulger later in the offseason, thus clearing his contract from the books during an uncapped year.

2. We have no idea if there was anyone else interested in Feeley. It's certainly not unrealistic to think so. In August, NFL.com's Jason La Canfora reported that the Patriots were one of "many teams" to be interested in Feeley, and I doubt many would argue that they are clueless when it comes to personnel. The Rams saw a veteran who knew their system, that provided them with a potential stop-gap capable of bridging the gap between Bulger and __________ (insert rookie QB's name here), and they acted quickly. Maybe Feeley would have still been on the market a week from now, maybe not. If you're the Rams, you probably don't want to take that chance.

3. I agree that the handling of the Atogwe situation has been strange. I've read that the Rams were hesitant to tender him at the highest level because he's not yet able to pass a physical, and may want to see him do that summer before committing more money to him. But I think the low tender offer exposes them to a potential "poison pill" situation, so we'll have to see if this gamble works out for them. But yes, I think this is a legitimate criticism.

4. Saving money on the Atogwe tender was probably part of it, but if the Rams didn't want to guarantee him $7 million in one year until he can pass a physical, it's hard to really blame them for that. That being said, consider that Chad Pennington, coming off of his third throwing shoulder injury, just resigned to be the back-up in Miami for one year for $2.5 million. Chris Redman reupped with the Falcons to be Matt Ryan's back-up - two years, $5.6 million. The Feeley contract isn't abnormally large, especially if the Rams think he may have to start a few games before a rookie is ready to take over.

5. Chester Taylor signed a $3.125-a-year deal with Chicago because he views them as a possible contender. If being a contender is part of his decision making process, do you really think he's going to sign the same deal with St. Louis? Doubtful. Who knows what Thomas Jones gets, but I think the Rams would rather add a younger more dynamic back-up whom they'll be able to depend on for a couple of seasons (hence their interest in the 26-year-old Sproles) rather than a soon-to-be 32 year old Jones.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

This seems to happen every year, some fans get to caught up in the FA warfare & if the Rams don't make some kind of splash they go on a rant about how the front office sucks, & same old sorry Rams, blah blah blah. Talk about the same old crap.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

We were expecting something similar to last year, get 1 decent name starter.
Despags has been talking about there PLAN for weeks and Feely was there 1rst step, I would have gone after someone who might not be there next week , TE from Broncos or the CB from the Jets, or at the very least a guy who has PLAYED FOOTBALL last year.
We're all homers and want the best for our team, but you have to admit the first move they made was a JOKE. Hes depth (at least we better freakin HOPE) but we could of grabbed this clown later, AFTER getting a REAL player.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

Blue, it isn't getting caught up in "free agent warefare". I wouldn't even have been that upset if the Rams had done nothing. But throwing tons of cash at Feeley when we have elite players waiting to get a deal is stupid. It would be like us going to Amani Toomer and giving him 4 million dollars a year. We know he's average, and maybe make a slight impact, but 4 million when one of the few stars we have is getting trampled on? It doesn't make sense.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

Originally Posted by BIG-BLUE

This seems to happen every year, some fans get to caught up in the FA warfare & if the Rams don't make some kind of splash they go on a rant about how the front office sucks, & same old sorry Rams, blah blah blah. Talk about the same old crap.

yeah, the same old crap that gets 6 wins in 3 years. Why is it wrong to be pig sick of this? If we lose atogwe, little, hall, fells after witherspoon chillar etc. We will be lucky to tread water this year. Sorry for not seeing the bright side. I just find it hard to accept another year following a team that ain't looking like winning soon. Check our Vegas odds there is nobody lower.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

Originally Posted by dave626

We were expecting something similar to last year, get 1 decent name starter.
Despags has been talking about there PLAN for weeks and Feely was there 1rst step, I would have gone after someone who might not be there next week , TE from Broncos or the CB from the Jets, or at the very least a guy who has PLAYED FOOTBALL last year.
We're all homers and want the best for our team, but you have to admit the first move they made was a JOKE. Hes depth (at least we better freakin HOPE) but we could of grabbed this clown later, AFTER getting a REAL player.

It's not as good of a free agent group as last year because 200+ of them became restricted free agents instead of unrestricted free agents, and the vast majority worth looking at were given a tender offer from their clubs.

You mention the TE from Denver, Scheffler, but he was given a second round tender. The Rams would be smart to try and talk trade with Denver instead of signing him to an offer sheet that Denver could potentially match. The CB from the Jets? You mean Lito Sheppard? The guy is average at best, has trouble staying healthy, and turns 29 this April. There's a reason New York traded for someone else to fill that spot.

And no, no one has to admit the first move was a joke. I provided a pretty logical explanation as to the first move earlier in the thread. And you have absolutely no idea that Feeley would have been available down the road. The Falcons and Dolphins both locked up their back-up QBs on the first day of free agency, by the way. And the Patriots were said to be interested in Feeley last August. Impossible to claim he'd have been available later.

I really get the feeling that some people just want the Rams to sign a big name, regardless of whether or not it makes any sense for them to do so, regardless of whether or not that guy is good or will be good down the road.

Originally Posted by peramoure

Blue, it isn't getting caught up in "free agent warefare". I wouldn't even have been that upset if the Rams had done nothing. But throwing tons of cash at Feeley when we have elite players waiting to get a deal is stupid. It would be like us going to Amani Toomer and giving him 4 million dollars a year. We know he's average, and maybe make a slight impact, but 4 million when one of the few stars we have is getting trampled on? It doesn't make sense.

Originally Posted by Nick

That being said, consider that Chad Pennington, coming off of his third throwing shoulder injury, just resigned to be the back-up in Miami for one year for $2.5 million. Chris Redman reupped with the Falcons to be Matt Ryan's back-up - two years, $5.6 million. The Feeley contract isn't abnormally large, especially if the Rams think he may have to start a few games before a rookie is ready to take over.

As I explained earlier, the Rams did not "throw tons of cash" at Feeley. They paid him a similar amount to what other back-ups were making. He's averaging $500k more a year than Pennington, and $200k more than Redman, both signed to be back-ups on the first day of free agency by their teams.

As for Atogwe, the Rams are taking a gamble because they don't want to commit the extra $5.75 million until he can pass a physical. Regardless of whether or not you agree with it, it has nothing to do with them signing Feeley, so viewing his signing as a slight to Atogwe just doesn't make much sense.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

I don't understand what you guys expected? Julius Peppers?? The Rams really going to drop a 6 year deal for a DE that's 30 some years old? Maybe the 25.5 Million guaranteed to Dunta Robinson who I don't think has played a full season in the NFL? Or the 11 million for Nate Burleson, I'm sure that investment will pay huge dividends for the Lions.

We all know this team intends to rebuild through the draft. I'm hoping none of you expected this team to play the role of the Redskins and throw money to aging veterans.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

Originally Posted by rampower

yeah, the same old crap that gets 6 wins in 3 years. Why is it wrong to be pig sick of this? If we lose atogwe, little, hall, fells after witherspoon chillar etc. We will be lucky to tread water this year. Sorry for not seeing the bright side. I just find it hard to accept another year following a team that ain't looking like winning soon. Check our Vegas odds there is nobody lower.

OK look, The Rams needed to clean house after the prior regimes just screwed things up, in a bad way. Did you except the Rams to be turned around over night? I know I didn't & the way the are going about it by releasing dead weight and building thru the draft is promising. Keep in mind the team is in the middle of a sale & as much as we've been told this will not effect the off season, we know or should know different. Until Kahn has control and evaluates the staff and how business is done you will not see much happening now.
Be Patient, with Kahn the future will be brighter.
As far as Feely goes, others have already stated what it is, a backup & this is the going rate. And as far as Atogwe goes it's a gamble, I like Atogwe but it is a business.

Re: So, this is what I think, and my radio show call.

If we had a capped season and we had only signed Feeley and let other free agents slip away then I'd understand being upset but honestly, how many of those free agents would we have wanted to spend top dollar on? Robinson? Other than him, there were no young free agents available who could make an impact for many years to come. I can also understand if we didn't have the first pick and 33rd but those picks are very important. The 33rd is practically a 1st round pick, look what happened with JLau. Although this free agency is really boring, I'm banking on this to work in our favor.